Improvement in street-sweeping machines



UNITE STATES wrLL IAML"v. DABOLL, or onANsfroN, RHODE IsLAND.

rlvlinovswiE NTr 1N STREET-SWEEPING MAcHaNEsA.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,365, dated May 27,1862.

. panying drawings, making part of this speciiication, in which- Figure1 is a longitudinal viewof a sweeping-machine arranged with myimprovement. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same, showingtheconstruction and arrangement of the interiorand the working parts. Figs.3 and 4 are details of the construction, which are referred to in thecourse of the description.

Similar letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the severalgures.

My improvement has special reference to a peculiar arrangement offriction driving rollers relatively with the ends of a revolving broomor brush,77 patented by N. B. Pratt, February 8, 1859, for acarpet-sweeper. My improvement consists in a peculiar conv struction ofthe brush-cylinder to provide for the wear and replacement of the brushmaterial, and, in combination therewith, a convenient apparatus forregulating and controlling the operations of the brush-cylinderconformable with its arrangement with the 'friction drivingrollers, asspecied in the patent referred to, for the purpose of adapting thesoarranged sweeping apparatus to street-sweeping purposes. Y

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe the same.

In the accompanying, drawings, AV A is the body of the machine, whichmay consist of a frame, of Wood or `cast-iron covered or'lined withsheet-iron, having a dirtbox, E E,at each end, and in connectiontherewith suitable opening or doors, D D, upon each side for re- .movingthe accumulations of dirt therefrom,

and having a stout frame, g, of wood or iron, projecting from theforward end, provided with a suitable linchpin, d, for connecting themachine with the forward aXletree of a wagon, so that it may be drawnand operated by one or more horses in the usual way. 4

The brush-cylinder G revolves between the two dirt-boxes E E in bearingsformed in the frame upon each side at e. It is constructed as shown inFigs. 2 and 3, there being two hubs, li li, of cast-iron, secured uponeach end of the shaft k, from which hubs a number of radial arms, fff,project, upon which the brushes I I I are arranged andV adjusted, twoopposite arms in each hub holding one brush by passing through the endsof the same, as shown.

The said brushes are adjusted to and held in their proper position bymeans of the spiral springs s s s, which encircle each arm beneath theends of the brushes, and a sliding collar, n n n, upon each arm over thebrush,whieh is secured to the arm by asetscrew, t. rIhe springs s ss, itwill be seen, press the brushes I I Ifrom the centerof thebrush-cylinder, so that after the brushes have worn short, by simplymoving the sliding collars n n n toward the ends of their radialv armsthe brushes I I I are set out. from the center and made effective againfrom time to time, until the brushes are worn so short that they are nolonger elastic, when the brush material should be removed and replacedby new. This is accomplished by loosening the screw-boltsin r r,whichserve to confine the birchtwigs, rattans, or other like material, ofwhich the brushes are made, between the barst' I z'. After the materialis properly inserted between said bars, the screw-bolts are againtightened and the ends of the brushes are trimmed off, so as to be ofuniform length and equally distant from the center of thebrush-cylinder. Thespringssssare depressed as much as possible at firstto give the greatest length to the new brush, that they mayf/ wear agreater length of time. The construc. tion of the brushes, asdescribed,it should be understood, is not new, the same being set forth in theexpired patent of Alexander Jones, of y July 28, 1843, and verygenerally used in machines for this purpose. The springs sss, besidesassisting in adjusting and holding the brushes I in position, alsopermit the brush to yield at one or both ends in case it shouldencounter any obstruction in revolving or in sweeping over an unevensurface.

The machine travels upon the friction driving-rollers L, one upon eachside, which revolve in bearings formed in the boxes m,which are arrangedin oblong slots p p in the frame, as shown in Fig. l. These rollers maybe formed of cast-iron, or of Wood shod with iron, about sixteen inchesin diameter, and upon the top of each bears one of the hubs h of thebrushcylinder, which are turned iiat and to a diameter of about twelveinches to form a suitable rolling bearing, J, and being thus arrangedthe entire Weight of the machine and its contents bears upon the top ofthe driving-rollers,which tends to impart a considerable power to therevolving brushcylinder.

In order to control the operation of" the brush-cylinder as arrangedwith the friction driving-rollers, so as to make the cylinder rcvolve ornot, as is desired, it is necessary to lift the bearings J of thebrush-cylinder from contact with the driving-rollers L, and with it thebody of the machine. This is done by means of the lever Bswinging uponthe fulcrum-pin u in the frame and exerting its power against the top ofthe boxesl m m upon each side of the machine, the two levers B beingconnected by a cross-bar, b, and frame b to the handvlever T, upon theframe g, conveniently arranged to be operated by the person driving theteam. To the hand-lever a stout iron hook, o, is attached, which hooksupon the catch y, as shown in Fig. 2, in which position thebrushcylinder remains stationary and is lifted from contact With thesurface over which it travels. In this condition the machine is drawn tothe locality which is to be swept, when, by vmeans of the hand-lever T,the hook o is released and the Working parts placed in the positionshown in Fig. l. The brush-cylinder is thereby made to revolve, and inso doing to sweep the dirt against the dash-board F, and thence into thedirt-boxes E E. When these are ill,ed,the cylinder islifted from thedriving-rollers by means of the levers T and B, and the load of dirt iscarried off and removed from the boxes through the doors D D by means ofa common hoe, after which the sweeping may be resumed.

Having described my improved machine, I wish it to be understood that Ido not claim the arrangement of the friction driving-rollers relativelywith the ends of the brush-cylinder, nor the construction of the brushesI I I as described, nor the use of the dash-board F, the improvementclaimed being confined to the peculiar construction of thebrush-cylinder and the apparatus described for controlling the operationof the same.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the shaft la, the hubs h h, the radial armsfff,the springs s s s, the collars nmwith the brushes I I I, substantiallyas described, for the purpose specied.

2. In combination with the brush-cylinder as arranged, the levers B andT, with suitable connections, in combination with the hook c, or anequivalent fastening, operating substantially as described, for thepurpose specified.

WM. V. DABOLL.

Witnesses:

ABRAHAM PAYNE, IsAAc A. BROWNELL.

